In 2019, my word for the year was “dignity.”
I let that word seep into my being… and let it become the foundation of all areas of my life.
For example, I don’t aim to have a “retirement fund” — I work to have a “dignity fund.”
That language inspires me.
When you have a “dignity fund,” you can pay for whatever challenges life throws at you…without having to beg, borrow, steal, or be late on payments, (all of which are the opposite of dignity… sorry, but it’s true.)
There is great dignity in doing work you love, work you believe in, work that helps others…and being PAID for that work.
There is dignity in prospering, due to excellent services rendered.
(Life is currently wrecking everything that’s NOT that.)
That’s why I commend everyone who’s WORKING and doing the work they love, and not going on “strike” while requesting or relying on free handouts.
Just as there is no dignity in “retiring” from a job you hate, just to sit on your ass 24/7 until you croak… (why don’t you switch to work you love?)
There is no dignity in letting other people solve your problems for you.
One of the things that MATURES our character in life…is being able to solve our own problems.
If someone swoops in and tries to “save” us from our chronic problem, they rob us of the dignity of lifting ourselves out of our own mess.
Sure, you can ask for help and hire people to assist you… but at the root, are you actually solving your own problem?
Or are you hoping others will bail you out?
Are you hoping others will save you from the chronic mess YOU keep creating?
I believe every adult should have the dignity of being able to solve their own problem right now.
Kids, too.
I was never taught to solve my own problems as a kid. This hindered me for a long time, until I learned the value of “helping myself.”
That means you figure out how to work, you figure out how to make money, you figure out how to deliver value… and you figure out what YOUR best path is for serving people… period.
You don’t let a talking head on TV, a government, a parent, or even a “coach” figure that out for you…
I learned to wash my hands in kindergarten. But apparently millions of people never grasped that simple concept. So it’s now being shoved into their consciousness.
For me, I don’t need this “duh” lesson… I got it.
Your dirty-ass surfaces are not my problem…
They’re your problem.
Your germs are not my problem.
My immune system is my problem.
Your fear of an invisible enemy isn’t even my problem. My trust in TRUTH is my problem.
See the pattern?
What you choose to do (or don’t do) in life…isn’t my problem.
It’s your problem.
It’s between you and God.
I don’t have to manage your life, and you don’t have to manage mine.
I experience a profound sense of dignity from being able to solve my own problems… while letting you solve yours.
The time to hire someone is when they can sharpen your ability to solve your own problems… and make you even 1% more effective at what YOU are already doing.
No one needs a business, a government, or even a hospital to “rescue” them.
(Hell, hospitals literally CAN’T rescue everyone. But they think they can…hence the massive dysfunction we’re seeing on a widespread scale.)
Each of us needs to learn to rescue ourselves.
This is not a selfish act…it’s an empowering act.
It’s actually the gateway to freedom.
The worst drains on society are those who feel they need to be “chronically rescued” by other humans.
There’s always a predatory marketer ready to swoop in and profit from their total state of disempowerment.
Michelle
Founder, The Anti-Marketing Manifesto
Michelle Lopez Boggs is a copywriter, copywriting mentor, and author of "The Anti-Marketing Manifesto: How to Sell Without Being a Sellout." She's helped her clients sell millions of dollars' worth of products and services online by using the MEI(S) principle — motivate, educate, and inspire, and sell. 